Coq au Vin

- 1 whole chicken, 3-4 lbs
- 3 Carrots, chopped
- 1 medium leek, sliced
- 1 medium white onion, chopped
- 1 cup pearl onions (if frozen thaw first)
- 1 cup sliced button mushrooms
- 3 cloves of fresh garlic, peeked and crushed
- 3 whole bay leaves
- 1/2 tsp peppercorns
- 1/2 liter full bodied red wine (AWI Gran Corte of course)
- 1/4 cup white flour
- Sprigs of fresh thyme, rosemary (2-3 of each, bundled together)
- Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Directions:
The day before: Cut the chicken into 6–8 pieces and marinate with bay leaves, peppercorns, garlic cloves and wine. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.
Remove the chicken from marinade; set the marinade aside and pat the chicken dry with a kitchen towel.
Spice the pieces with salt and pepper. Brown the chicken all over in a stew pot and set aside.
In the same pot, gently brown the carrots, mushrooms, onion, pearl onions, leek and garlic and dust with the flour.
Return the chicken pieces to the pot and add the marinade. Add sprigs of thyme and rosemary. Cook the oven at 350F for 1-hour.
Traditionally served over buttered egg noodles or roasted new potatoes, it would also go well with polenta or a crusty loaf of sourdough bread. Garnish with parsley before serving.
Makes 3–4 servings.